Poor women cant be SAHM

If politicians believed what they were saying this week about parenting, and how much they valued SAHMs they'd be changing laws, not just tweeting. Instead we have this clip from Mott Romney talking about the " dognity of work" he insisted on the Massachusetts welfare moms
http://t.co/SvopHaKD

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~Sharon~

"To raise nice kids, you have to talk to them like they are people instead of talking to them like they're property." -- Frank Zappa

Comments (404)

While I do not support people who TTC and make poor finanical decisions on GA, there is something to I want to address.

I don't think that a SAHM who uses WIC should be told to either get off or get a job. I have never used WIC, but let me tell you, around here it is promoted, adevertised, and completely normal. A big folder of WIC info was given to me after the birth of each of my children, and with 2 of my children, a WIC representative came to the hospital with sign-up info. It seemed like too much of a hassle for me because I EBF, by they were shocked that I would I not take it. I took various Mommy and Me classes over the years and at least once a year a WIC representative came to talk to the class. These were not classes just for low income women. In fact, the bulk of us were doing very well--yet it was still advertised to us because the income limits are very high. There are WIC billboards everywhere. MOPS groups have WIC people come and talk about the program. The local paper advertises for WIC. There are job offerings for bilingual individuals to help promote WIC to new immigrants. If you just arrived in the US, have no job skills yet, speak little english, and in fact you have nothing but the clothes on your back, and someone comes to you (who can speak your native language) and offers you this wonderful US program to help you pay for food, of course you are going to take. It is silly to be mad at the recipients when the program is set up the way it is. While I personally think the income limits are too high, and the amount spent on promotion is wasteful, the idea that a Mom should automatically turn down WIC if she happens to be a SAHM is pretty ridiculous.

I'm a SAHM currently pursuing my MBA. Both my dh and I are college educated (BS in Psych) and as a result, the most I've made with that education was only $30,000/year at an hourly pay rate. We have struggled paying student loans, health care costs, etc. The jobs in our profession typically pay less and the benefits are laughable. Daycare costs are near $1400/month for infant care in my area, and even more for the quality of care I demand for my child, so we made the decision for me to go back to school and stay home while our lo is young. I work a little from home to bring in extra income while my husband works full time, but money is still extremely tight.

I don't think it's fair to villanize those who choose to have a parent to stay at home with their children over state funded daycare. Our culture places too much importance on monetary value, entitlement, and independence. I'm not sure where this glamorized image of SAHM's living the high life on GA came from, because it is a far stretch from the truth. You have to APPLY for GA, provide proof of all income, including bank and tax statements, and in some cases continue to find employment and attend workshops to help you gain employment. And let's be honest, I worked in daycare while in college and at many cost effective daycares, your caregivers MIGHT have their GED, MAYBE a HS diploma, but not the educational background to support secure attachment or developmental needs of growing children. Yes, the state typically requires 15 hours of training a year, but for many, being a daycare teacher is an hourly paid job, with little or no benefits, and a stepping stone to something else.

It is silly to be mad at the recipients when the program is set up the way it is. While I personally think the income limits are too high, and the amount spent on promotion is wasteful, the idea that a Mom should automatically turn down WIC if she happens to be a SAHM is pretty ridiculous.

WIC is promoted so heavily because it is designed to make sure kids are getting fed. You would be surprised at how many people (even people with the higher incomes on the scale) water down formula or ration it. And BFing moms can only benefit from recieving healthy food. It also allows WIC to monitor the children and make sure they are getting enough to eat.

So it's okay for the working poor families to have a stay-at-home parent? They're poor, too.

So, if a mom used to work but can't now because of job market circumstances, and working outside the home would require her to bring home $750 per week just to break even from the daycare costs for 3 children, it's okay for her to stay home until they go to school, while also receiving $300 per month in foodstamps, but it's not okay for another family who is receiving the exact same amount in foodstamps because the parent staying home doesn't WANT to work until the kids go to school?

The intent makes no difference to the amount of assistance being received.